Community Driven for a Sustainable Future
The NunatuKavut Community Council leads and collaborates on a range of research initiatives that reflect the experiences, priorities, and knowledge systems of NunatuKavut Inuit. These projects focus on areas such as health and wellness, climate change, energy, land use, culture, and language – often conducted in partnership with academic institutions, governments, and community organizations.
NCC’s research is community-driven and grounded in Inuit ways of knowing, with a goal of strengthening programs, informing policy, and advancing self-determination through evidence, story, and shared learning.
Sustainability Research
How reclaiming Inuit knowledge can create opportunities for a self-determined future amongst Inuit: Privileging Inuit governance and planning for sustainability in NunatuKavut
This research is led by Amy Hudson as part of doctoral research. It is important and timely for NCC as a history of research and stories “about” and “on” Inuit has had detrimental implications that can still be seen today in diverse areas that impact the physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being of Inuit in NunatuKavut. This project is driven by the needs, interests and priorities of Inuit communities in NunatuKavut and NCC. This research is an example of community led, strength-based research that seeks to (re)connect people with all that is good about our communities, while privileging traditional and local Inuit knowledge in order to think about and create a sustainable and healthy future reflective who we are and where we come from. As communities identify a sustainable path forward, on their own terms and envisioned by them, we can share in building a bright future for generations to come.
The goals/objectives are as follows:
- Inform Inuit community governance practices, grounded in Inuit knowledge and strength- based philosophy;
- Create opportunities for Inuit self-determination and revitalization in NunatuKavut;
- Reclaim Inuit knowledge in NunatuKavut;
- Contribute to an Inuit political theory, a knowledge base that is currently lacking
In the spring of 2017, residents in three of the pilot communities that were part of this research (Black Tickle, Norman Bay and St. Lewis) were asked to submit to NCC what they loved about their community. Here are booklets with all of the submissions from each community:
A manual was developed that was informed by the work of the sustainability coordinators in the pilot communities. They each worked to develop contents for this manual based on their work with communities and their ideas moving forward. NCC compiled their work into the following document: